That’s the fifth UKVMUG done with, and the first one that I’ve ever presented at.

I loved it, it was a great day. The highlights for me (or what I did):

Joe Baguley’s opening keynote – great as ever (even though I saw some of it in TechSummit a couple of weeks ago). Joe is a very inspiring speaker, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my boss (a few times removed). Listening without a hangover this time, there were some interesting things that I took away from it.

Eric Wright’s session on OpenStack and VMware. Great to meet a fellow vBrownBag guy and good content too.

An idea Josh Atwell gave me for some future blog postings over lunch.

Picking the brains of Andy Jenkins and Robbie Jerom about Docker and Cloud Native Apps

John Troyer’s excellent closing keynote – he doesn’t just get technology and the associated communities, he understands the British and their compulsion with DIY.

The conversations that I had with some of the event’s numerous sponsors, thank you.

Conversations that I had with many of the other attendees – too many to list.

As I mentioned, I also presented (alongside Sam McGeown and Jonathan Medd). Aside from some PowerPoint issues before we started, I thought it went well. I already have a few ideas for more VMUG sessions for next year… 🙂

What about the “but”?

In case anyone’s wondering about the “but” in the post title, there were a few things about the day that weren’t so good. They were:

Committee chair Alaric Davies announcing that he’s going to stand down to spend more time learning to play the (Spanish) guitar.

Committee member Stuart Thompson announcing that he’s going to stand down to spend more time painting pictures of fruit bowls.*

Committee member Jane Rimmer announcing that she’s going to stand down to spend more time on her business. (Not quite how Alaric put it.)

Between them, they’ve given over 25 years to VMUGs (both UK and London) and, in my opinion, helped promote and advance the VMware community immensely. They certainly have my thanks.

That does mean that the committee (for the London and UK VMUGs) needs some new blood**. Perhaps that’s you?

It’s not an undertaking to be taken lightly. I know this from my involvement with the South West UK VMUG over the last two years. It needs people who can give their time, both in organising events and running them. Interested? There’s a survey available to complete as part of the process. Just make sure you do it by next Thursday (26th November). * I may have made that up.

Michael is a Senior Consultant for Xtravirt. If it's got buttons or flashy lights on it then it'll probably be on his radar. When not "mending computers" (it's sometimes easier than explaining "cloud" to relatives), Michael provides essential education, entertainment and trampoline services to his two children.